Cleaned Head! Pics!

Check out how awesome I got the head I'm rebuilding clean. If you don't remember how dirty it was, here's a pic of before:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/107097DSCF0016_Custom_1.JPG
Damn dirty. Over 100k worth of oil and buildup.

Now the after shots!

From the top
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/107097DSCF0011_Custom_.JPG

From the bottom
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/107097DSCF0012_Custom_.JPG

Close up of the valve seats
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/107097DSCF0013_Custom_.JPG

You can see that the runners still have some buildup in them. I'm going to take a thin brush, maybe a tooth brush and scrub that all out.

So basically what I did was sprayed it with some heavy duty cleaner and then dipped it in burning hot water with dish soap. I did that twice. Then, I took it to the local DIY car wash and blasted it with the pressure washer. Used the engine/wheel cleaner that they had there too and soaked it in that. That stuff works wonders. Then blasted it again with high pressure soap water, then regular water. Did that twice. Looks great.

looks good man, good job!

looks good. What you putting in there?

Nice! I was just going to start a thread soon about cleaning a head good, I need to do it on mine. Need to find a damn valve sprign compressor first.

Nice! I was just going to start a thread soon about cleaning a head good, I need to do it on mine. Need to find a damn valve sprign compressor first.
what works wonders is a 22mm o2 sensor socket and a big c-clamp

Thanks.
IDK what kinda cams yet. Still doing reearch on those. Probably some stage 1 street cams. That's all I know right now. Port and polish job for sure. Springs and valves may stay the same. Depends on the money situation. Everythings going to be port matched too. Then the 55mm TB will top it off.

I posted in the other thread about me having problems with the valves on what I used. A piece of metal bent so that it makes a box slightly smaller than the retainer. It had a little handle too. Then take a C-Clamp and press down where the handle meets the square. Works great for me. lol. I'm weird.

Damn, pretty good job.

Hey David-B Do you know where your going to send off your head to?? well i know a website that does it. www.http://exileracing.com/.com You send them in your head and they can polish it for $450 and also port your intakemanifold for $175.



BTW::: Anyone need any spare 420a heads? I have my old 420a head and 420a intake manifold.

I'm pretty sure he said he was going to do it himself, it's actually alot easier than you'd think, I did it to the head on my 420a. Of course the car didn't long run enough for me to notice anything but whatever I guess, it's a DSM. It did have somewhat more snap when you stepped on it though.

If I was going to send it out, exile would be to where I would send it. They do great work. Price is a little high though. I'm going to try it myself. I'm going to buy a dremel-type attachment for my compressor and do it all like that. It's going to be time consuming.

Hellah... how much for an IM?

So what can I use to clean the valves and all the little stuff? I can't take the pressure washer to those. lol. I've soaked them in soap and water and tried some light steel wool on the valves and springs. All that build up is still on the valves. What will get all that off? You can see all the little 'beads' of it all stacked up on the head of the valve. What can I do?

Get some diesel fuel or parts cleaner and let them soak for a day or so, then go and get yourself a good small(tooth brush size) wire brush. They should clean right up.;)

hella how much for the head?

Dont forget to use assembly lube when putting the cams back in or your head wont like you.

Just regular oil works too right?

parts washer fluid works wanders...the biodegradeable yellowish colored stuff with the tiny bacteria that eat oil...its not too expensive either...wow what an informed sounding post:icon16:

but seriously that stuff took grease off my brigs motor when i rebuilt it and god knows how old that thing is...mud was caked on the deck so long the paint was 2 different colors when i got it all off:iceslolan

What's that stuff called? It souds good.

I was actually thinking of going back to the car wash with a gallon and filling it with that green stuff that I used on the head. I love that stuff.

Ok, sorry for the jack, but I figured we didnt need two threads on cleaning heads ;).

So I went to all the automotive places today looking to buy a valve spring compressor. None at Napa, Car Quest, wont go to Champion they are a bunch of douche bags, fleet (pretty big tool section), and Home Depot (for the hell of it) and found none. Well, I did find two at Autovalue. A big C clamp type one and a goofy one that you dont need to have thead out to get the springs out. The goofy one was $35 and the C style one was $80!!! :wtf: So I went to Walmart and got a $9 6" C clamp and went home. I found that the C clamp and a open ended wrench worked pretty good for compressing them, I just had some trouble getting the keepers out. Well, I figured it out after a while and took out 3 intake valves. I'll do the rest Saturday night when I have some time. So my question is on abrasive materials. Is it ok to give the head/valves a good scrub down with like a tooth brush or something like that? We've got some pretty badass degreaser at McDonalds, I am going to scrub it there for a while then pressure wash it at a car wash.

yea toothbrush will be fine so will a wire brush

The spring compressor I had bought was only $15. It only works for SOHC though. The other one they had looked like a crow bar with a hole in it. It was like $8. That looked WAY too big to fit in that tight space. What a waste. I think making your own tool for this job is def the easiest. I say we patent something and sell it. DSMers get a discount. lol. Good times.

If you know someone who has a sand/bead blaster that would work perfect for cleaning the valves. Are you going to have a machine shop do a 3 angle valve job on this?

a wire wheel on a bench grinder works well for cleaning valves also, thats what we use at the shop.